Project Activities
Under this project, the partnership administered and analyzed data from a new school climate and working conditions surveys to (1) describe statewide variation among districts, schools, teachers, and students in school climate and working conditions, (2) estimate associations between school climate and student education outcomes, (3) provide information on how school climate measures may be incorporated into VA's School Quality Profiles, and (4) integrate school climate and working conditions measures into the Department of Education's technical assistance programs to schools.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The project took place in the Virginia public schools.
Sample
The survey included all students in grades 4, 5, and 9–12, teachers, and staff.
Initial research
The researchers administered surveys in January-March 2019. The student survey was focused on school climate and was informed by the analysis of a pilot climate survey given in the 2016-17 school year and feedback from school divisions. While a school climate survey for teachers and staff was developed, the researchers replaced it with a working conditions survey that the Virginia General Assembly mandated in the 2018 Appropriations Act. 93% of schools participated in the teacher survey for a 67% response rate, 62% of elementary schools participated for an 84% response rate, and 67% of high schools participated for a 61% response rate. While 91% of schools participated in the staff survey, the researchers were unable to estimate a response rate as the size of the staff population was unknown. The researchers carried out four sets of analyses. The first examined the psychometric properties of the surveys' measures of school climate and working conditions. The second examined variation in the measures of school climate and working conditions by school and by respondent characteristics. The third analysis explored the extent to which survey-derived measures of school climate surveys might provide different signals on school climate than the current test-based measures. Finally, the researchers assessed the association of school climate with high school students' progression through science and mathematics pipelines.
Key outcomes
The outcomes of the partnership include the following:
- increased capacity of VDOE to survey school climate and working conditions statewide;
- a database on school climate and working conditions that can be used by VDOE to inform its technical assistance to schools;
- presentations, briefings, and publications on the perceptions of working conditions by teachers and staff, the perceptions of school climate by students, and the links between school climate and student education outcomes; and
- a basis for further research on school climate and working conditions. This includes a new IES-funded project, Teacher Working Conditions and Equitable Student Outcomes (R305A200106).
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Partner institutions
Virginia Department of Education
Products and publications
Project website:
Publications:
Working Papers
Miller, L. C., Sadowski, K., & Piver-Renna, J. (2019). The Fifth Indicator: Does School Climate Provide New Information on School Quality? EdPolicyWorks Working Paper Series No.71.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Burkholder, Jo Ann; Piver-Renna, Jennifer; Saimre, Maribel; and Cornell, Dewey
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
